MyFamilyClub - Money Saving Made Easy

Olympics and school holidays! It’s all fun this week so I don’t blame home cooks for leaving meals to the last minute.

The problem is that we always end up frustrated, out of pocket and invariably the family miss out on their balanced nutrient fix. So this week the meal plan brings to you a selection of home made,  take aways (often called ‘fake aways’).

These should take less than 30 minutes each to prep and cook, leaving you to join in all the fun with the family without the stress and cost involved in eating out or getting take aways.

About our family meal planner
This week's family meal planner
Shopping list

About our family meal planner

Our meal planners include recipes for the week that are child friendly and all form part of a balanced daily diet and will give you plenty of nutrients from each of the food groups (proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals), says Sian.

Included in the animal and plant protein such as white meat, fish, red meat and eggs. On the meatless day you'll find nuts, chickpeas, cheese and seeds. Sian says the secret to low-cost, healthy dinners is to plan ahead to make sure you are stress-free, and have the correct ingredients in the right amount in your kitchen ready cook.

Each week, Sian provides you with five easy recipes to plan for the week. You can decide when to make them, on whichever day suits you best. There is also a shopping list (below) that can be printed ready to take with you to the supermarket.

This weeks meal planner

• Poached chicken and dip in dip out salad
• Sweet and sour turkey/ chicken puffs
• Teriyaki vegetable stir fry and rice
• Bolognese, spinach and pasta
• Easy chicken chow mein
• Thai fish cakes with sweet chilli lime sauce, homemade potato wedges and seasonal green beans or broad beans
• Pavlova

Shopping list

Cereal, grains, pasta

Cornflour - 0.5tsp
Basmati Rice - 250grms
Noodles - 400grms
Rice Flour - 50grms
Self raising Flour - 50grms           
Plain Flour - 1tblsp

Dairy, egg

Butter - 50grms
Eggs - 6
Parmesan cheese (optional alternatively cheddar) - 50grms
Greek yoghurt - 200grms

Fats and Oils

Vegetable or sunflower - 200mls

Meat, poultry, fish

Chicken - 1
Or  chicken fillets - 6
Or chicken pieces - 12
Lean mince beef - 500grms
Prawns (frozen shelled) - 400grms

Store cupboard

Fish sauce or oyster (alternatively use seasoning ) - 5tblsp
Chicken stock cubes - 4
Beef stock cubes - 2
Sweet chilli sauce - 6 tblsp
White or brown vinegar - 5tsp
Soft brown sugar - 2 tblsp
Caster sugar - 200grms
Tin tomatoes - 1
Teriyaki sauce or soya sauce - 4tblsp
Sparkling water - 250mls
Tomato sauce - 2tblsp
Essence of rose water - 1tsp
Soya sauce (light) - 4tblsp
Pineapple juice (if using fresh pineapple)

Herbs, spices

Fresh coriander - 2tblsp
Fresh basil leaves (optional) - 8
Turmeric powder (optional) - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 2 pinches

Fruit and vegetables

Onion - 6
Red pepper - 2
Yellow pepper - 1
Green pepper - 1
Spinach - 1 pk
Leeks - 2
Potatoes - 2.5kg
Green or broad beans - 300grms
Spring onions - 1 pk
Lettuce - 1
Cherry tomatoes - 20 (approx0
Mushrooms - 6 -10
Pineapple or tinned - 1
Lime - 1
Carrots - 4
Chilli  (optional) - 1    
Ginger root - 1inch
Courgette - 1
Strawberries - 1 punnet

Sian is a home economist with over 25 years experience as a secondary school teacher and now running her own private cookery school with a focus on meal planning. After years of seeing people struggling to provide healthy meals everyday for their families, she created her own meal planning system at Siansplan.com.